In this paper, we demonstrated a fiber acoustic sensor based on a single-mode–multimode–single-mode (SMS) fiber structure. The SMS fiber structure consists of a multimode fiber (MMF) sandwiched between two single-mode fibers (SMFs). Whenever the MMF fiber experiences vibration disturbances, the fiber experiences tensile and compressive strains. By demodulating the vibration-induced intensity fluctuations, the vibrations signals can be quantified. Through employing several SMS sensors in parallel and connecting, and controlling by an optical switch, quasi-distributed sensing can be realized. The proposed sensor system is demonstrated in a laboratory environment and has the capability of detecting a wide range of vibration frequencies from 10 Hz to 400 kHz. In addition, the fiber sensor system is field-tested, where several SMS fiber sensors are mounted on 8.5” diameter steel pipe and excite acoustic emissions based on a magnetostrictive guided wave collar system. The proposed highly sensitive fiber sensor can be potentially used in practical applications of pipeline health condition monitoring.
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